Regulatory roundabout: Four developments you need to know

We highlight notable European regulatory developments, from the European Commission taking issue with Poland and Hungary over rule of law issues and a consultation on changes to tax rules.

	The European Commission (EC) sent (27 January) Poland notice that it believes the country is violating EU law “by allowing the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court—the independence and impartiality of which is not guaranteed—to take decisions, which have a direct impact on judges and the way they exercise their function.” This is part of the EC’s ongoing infringement procedures intended to protect the judicial independence of Polish judges.
	The European Central Bank announced (8 February) that it will begin publishing aggregate results of its Survey of Monetary Analysts in June 2021. The survey gathers market participants’ expectations about the future evolution of key monetary policy parameters.
	According to a report by Reuters (8 February), the EC wants Hungary to reform its public procurement rules to allay systemic fraud before EU pandemic recovery funds come on stream. The Reuters piece says that a Commission document sent in January specified the required legal changes, stating competition in public procurement is “insufficient in practice”.
	The EC is seeking (8 February) ideas on how to improve value-added tax (VAT) rules for financial and insurance services. The executive believes current provisions rendering most financial and insurance services exempt from VAT are outdated, and a public consultation will run until 3 May.